| Summary: | The use of implant materials is always associated with the risk of infection. Moreover, the effectiveness of antibiotics is reduced due to antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Thus, selecting the appropriate alternative antimicrobials for local delivery systems is correlated with successful infection management. We evaluated immobilization of the <i>S. aureus</i> specific bacteriophages in clinically recognized biopolymers, i.e., chitosan and alginate, to control the release profile of the antimicrobials. The high-titre <i>S. aureus</i> specific bacteriophages were prepared from commercial bacteriophage cocktails. The polymer mixtures with the propagated bacteriophages were then prepared. The stability of the <i>S. aureus</i> bacteriophages in the biopolymer solutions was assessed. In the case of chitosan, no plaques indicating the presence of the lytic bacteriophages were observed. The titre reduction of the <i>S. aureus</i> bacteriophages in the Na-alginate was below 1 log unit. Furthermore, the bacteriophages retained their lytic activity in the alginate after crosslinking with Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions. The release of the lytic <i>S. aureus</i> bacteriophages from the Ca-alginate matrices in the TRIS-HCl buffer solution (pH 7.4 ± 0.2) was determined. After 72 h—0.292 ± 0.021% of bacteriophages from the Ca-alginate matrices were released. Thus, sustained release of the lytic <i>S. aureus</i> bacteriophages can be ensured.
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